The Lost Princess
by Emmeebee
Summary: When a convoy of ninjas returns to Castle Shirasagi with a young girl in tow, Ryoma and Hinoka rush out to greet her – only to find that she is as much their sister as she is a baboon.


A/N: Since _Revelation_ was only just released in Australia (I've been creating my character as I wait for FFN to load!), this is solely based on my initial play-throughs of _Birthright_ and _Conquest_.

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Ryoma scowled down at the equations his governess had set for him to solve before lunch.

As much as he usually loved his lessons, finding tranquility in the way the questions all had easy, logical answers, he simply couldn't concentrate on something as trite as maths when his heart was so conflicted. His every instinct screamed at him to storm Nohr to save his sister and reclaim his father's body, but their army wasn't strong enough to reach the capital, let alone to overcome the king.

Groaning in frustration, he pushed aside the incomplete work and rested his head in his hands. _What good is it to be a member of the royal family when we can't even protect our own sister?_

He knew that it was more complicated than that. Ruling a kingdom wasn't a shiny perk to be enjoyed and then neglected; it was rewarding but unending service to that country. His family's first loyalty was to Hoshido and its subjects, as it had to be. Since decimating their own armed forces would just leave the kingdom open to a retaliatory strike, they were left with no choice but to bide their time and hope that their intelligence network would find Corrin. Still, his heart ached every time he thought about his father and sister, each just as lost to him as the other.

That loss was threatening to tear the whole family apart. His mother was bravely carrying on in her role as queen, but he saw how it ate away at her when she thought no one was watching. Sakura, too young to understand the situation, simply kept asking when their father and sister were going to return home. Takumi refused to talk to anyone about it, instead switching between insisting he was fine and locking himself away in his bedroom to mourn alone. And Hinoka…

Well, at least Hinoka had stopped trying to sneak out of the castle to mount a single-handed rescue attempt. Instead, she had taken to spending her free time at the stables with the pegasi, following their riders around like an energetic puppy until they agreed to take her flying with them. Ryoma could sense that she was plotting something – she had never been good at subterfuge – but he put it out of his mind. The castle retainers knew better than to be tricked into helping her, so, as long as she wasn't hurting anyone, she could plot away all she liked.

He forced himself to return to his schoolwork. Leading a kingdom was about doing the hard things so that others didn't have to, after all. What better practice than to finish his work even when he longed to find his siblings and hold them all close?

Just as he finally settled into the right mindset for maths, a joyful cry stole his attention away again. "Ryoma!" Hinoka's voice called out, and he abandoned his equipment to rush out to greet her. "They're coming! The ninjas Mother sent out have returned!"

"How do you know about the ninjas?" he asked, frowning down at her. "That was supposed to be a secret. Have you been listening in at the doorjambs again?"

Her cheeks tinted pink, but she brushed away his comment with a quick shake of her head. "It doesn't matter. They're back – and there's a _girl_ with them!"

Ryoma stiffened, all thoughts of chastising her fleeing from his mind. "What? Did you see… Was it _her_?"

"I was too far away to tell, but who else could it be? Are you coming?"

"Of course," he replied without the slightest hint of hesitation. Although he knew they should give the queen time to welcome the convoy and calm their probably traumatised sister, the idea of being parted from her longer than they had to be was unthinkable.

Laughing like children high on sugar, they ran out of the family's private wing and raced through the familiar labyrinth of castle halls, their feet echoing like thunder against the stone floor.

 _I can't wait to tell Takumi and Sakura,_ Ryoma thought. The thought of their expressions morphing from disbelief to elation drove him forward even faster, until Hinoka was struggling to keep up with his longer gait.

As the siblings burst through the front gate and onto the lawn, he was met with the sight of the small convoy. Queen Mikoto stood in their midst with a small child by her side.

Slowing down, Ryoma grabbed his sister's arm. "Wait for Mother to finish thanking them. We have to respect – "

But Hinoka, headstrong as ever, shook off his hand and charged forward. "Corrin! _Corrin!_ "

Their stepmother turned instinctively, and Ryoma was unable to resist breaking into a run as well. After all of the heartache of the past few months, he was finally going to see his sister again. She was home, and she was safe, and it wouldn't be long before all five of them would be together again. As he overtook Hinoka's short frame, his eyes locked onto the returned girl.

But his steps faltered as he caught sight of blue hair where there should have been white and frowns where there should have been smiles.

A brief moment later, Hinoka too seemed to notice that something was wrong, for she skidded to a stop and whispered, with a fragility that hit Ryoma like an axe, "Corrin?"

Big blue eyes stared back at them as the girl, who looked to be about the same age as their beloved sister, trembled with almost palpable fear.

" _NO!_ " Hinoka screamed, turning and tearing off the way they had come.

Concerned that she would do something rash, Ryoma moved to follow her – but two of the young Sky Knight recruits, having been lured out of the nearby stables by the din, were already hurrying after her. Knowing that her friends would be able to support her just as well as he could, he made his way over to the convey instead. "I'm sorry for the interruption, Mother. Hinoka thought she saw Corrin, and we couldn't resist coming out to check."

Sadness flooded her eyes. "Ryoma, dear, they tried to find her, but…"

"I understand."

"They did, however, find King Garon's daughter, Azura," she continued. "We're hoping that he will agree to a trade."

Ryoma let out a sigh of relief. Finally, the pain would begin to ease. "He will. No parent would refuse."

"Precisely," the queen replied, although she didn't sound as certain as he felt. Stepping closer to him, she added, so that only he could hear her, "I want her to be comfortable during her stay here. Would you show her to the kitchens to get something to eat and then introduce her to your siblings? I'm sure she will find it comforting to be around other children."

"I – " Catching sight of the girl's terrified little face, he broke off. She might not be Corrin, and she might be the daughter of the man who took her, but she was still an innocent. "Of course. I will be sure to look after her." Crouching down until he was the same height as her, he continued, "Hello, sweetheart. My name is Ryoma. You must be Princess Azura."

She gave the barest hint of a nod.

"You must be hungry after such a long journey." When she nodded once more, this time more confidently, he said, "Let's go get you something to eat, then, shall we? After that, I can introduce you to my little sister, if you'd like. She would love some company, and she might even have some dolls for you to play with."

Ryoma held out his hand. A moment later, the quiet girl shuffled forward and slipped her little palm into his. Smiling at the bittersweet memories of all of the times he had held Corrin's hand when she was sad, he stood up and led Azura into the castle.


End file.
